Enemies Within
by Calimestelitava
Summary: Sequel to 'An Enemy Within'. The Empire has a new leader, and he wants a certain Arkanian Jedi back. The Jedi herself is playing dangerous games in order to ensure the future. Will she succeed before the Empire or NR finds them and holds them for treason?
1. Three years later

AN: Sequel to An Enemy Within. Thanks for all who reviewed that story back then! Some of those characters are still around, some not. Also, there are more characters from the SW books and all, than were in that one. You might be able to understand this one without having read AEW, but I recommend you read it before reading this. Makes it easier.

This chapter puts the things in motion, and introduces the main characters.

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars, not mine.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

A youngish human man rushed through the streets of Katraasii Spaceport. He passed curious human inhabitants, as well as annoyed non-humans who shouted after him with languages he couldn't really understand.

He also passed several Imperial stormtroopers, who only glanced at him as he ran. This wasn't the first time he was doing this. No, not even close. He had done the same every single day. Why? Because he always slept too late, and he had to hurry to get to his work place on time.

Today especially was an important day. Rumour said, that an important guest was coming to inspect the Spaceport. So, he was hurrying even more than usual. Unfortunately because of this he managed to collide with a few inhabitants who fell to the ground. He just shouted 'sorry!' at them before he continued his run.

Finally he made it to the prefect's office and he stopped panting in front of the door. The stormtrooper who was standing in guard just spared him a quick glance before he stood aside to let the young man to open the door so that he could step in.

As soon as he was inside, a familiar voice of the prefect greeted him. "You're late."

He gulped. "I know, sir. It won't happen again."

The prefect snorted at this. This was coming from someone who had been late every single day. And he had always promised not to do it again. He rolled his eyes. "This will not continue. The new ruler of the Empire is visiting our spaceport and he has requested an assistant for himself. That will be you."

The young man's eyes widened. "But sir, how could I be better than someone else? Surely-" The prefect's angry glare silenced him.

"Listen. One of our spies, one of the Fists really, has gone missing. She had been infiltrated in to Coruscant, then she was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons. This has lasted too long already. The Grand Admiral wishes to find her.

"You, as a one time member of the Royal Guard can sense Force. This is why you might be able to find her. You are sensitive, aren't you?" The younger man can only nod at this. "Good. Chimaera will be here within an hour. Grand Admiral Thrawn will not be staying here for long. Now, go and pack your belongings. You won't be returning here."

* * *

Captain Gilad Pellaeon watched the hyperspace through the large viewports of the bridge of the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera. They had been tracking down several of those, who worked for the Empire and were able to sense the Force, for weeks now. Ever since the previous ruler had died, and Thrawn had been the only remaining Grand Admiral who was still alive.

Or, rather, ever since Thrawn had discovered that one of the Fists was still working for the Empire, although she had been on LoA for a long time. Three years if the records got it right. And now they were looking for her. He didn't even know what was so special about her.

A familiar voice brought him out of his reverie. "What is in your mind, Captain? Maybe you wonder why we're looking for a single Fist. Why wouldn't we send someone else to find her?"

Pellaeon turned to look at the blue-skinned Grand Admiral who was sitting in his command chair. The admiral was apparently able to read minds. He sighed. "Yes, admiral. Why are _we_ looking for her? What's so special about her?"

Pellaeon could've sworn that the admiral's red eyes were glowing brighter for a moment. "Ah, you see, captain, that the one we're looking for is the only Fist who isn't human. She's Arkanian."

That name the captain had heard. That species had a quite a reputation. Not to mention that they were claimed to be more intelligent than any humans. And that they loved science, even to the extent of genetic manipulation and cyber enchantments. Like what they did to the stocky Yakan. From primitive dim-witted species, to intelligent but emotionless, via cyber enchantment experiments. Not to mention that they had claws. And blank eyes. He wondered which ones would be creepier, Thrawn's glowing red eyes, or Arkanian blank, milky white eyes. He shivered at the thought.

Again Thrawn brought him back. "I see you have heard of them." His voice was certainly amused.

Pellaeon glanced at him, and saw the faint smirk on the admiral's lips. "I have, sir."

Thrawn chuckled. "I can also imagine what stories. Don't be fooled, captain. The stories are probably true, but the one we're after wasn't raised as Arkanian. According to the records, Emperor's son raised her from very young age. If she hasn't returned to her home planet and absorbed the Arkanian mindset, she will not try any experiments on this crew."

Pellaeon nearly sighed in relief at this. "Who is she, anyway?"

Thrawn grinned. "Her name is Thelea Jeth." The captain's eyes widened as he heard the surname. "Yes, captain. She's descendant of the one of the most famous Jedi Masters of old times. She's descendant of Arca Jeth."

* * *

From her usual observing point near the viewports Thelea Jeth observed her home planet. It had been three years since she was made the admiral of one of the smaller fleets within the Arkanian Armada. Three years she had kept her distance to both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire.

She turned her head to look at her captain, and an old friend, Wellen Carlan. He was the only human on board her personal command ship, the Moonlord. He was talking to one of the crew members at the moment.

The ship's bridge wasn't swarming with people yet, since they were only waiting for the next task. Each time they were sent out of the solar system, Thelea worried about having to face her old superiors. Didn't really matter from which side. She didn't want to meet them at all. Not yet.

From Wellen her eyes went back to her home planet. Arkania. That's where her parents were. Ever since joining the Armada, she had been able to meet her parents constantly. Under her parent's tutelage she had also learned more of the Force and had become quite powerful Jedi.

She startled as she heard Wellen's voice. "Admiral, would you like to join me to a walk?"

She turned to look at him, and shrugged, before walking to him. "Certainly, captain." She flashed him a smile, and they left the bridge side by side.

* * *

The two had ended up to one of the botanical recreational areas. This one resembled botanical gardens, and had samples of plants from numerous planets. Among the corridors taking from one planet's vegetation area to another there were numerous benches and fountains, and open areas.

The two were inhabiting one of the benches in the area that had Corellian plants in it. They were sitting side by side, both silent, watching the plants in front of them. Well, Thelea was. Wellen's eyes kept glancing at the Arkanian next to him. His eyes took in her golden-hued skin, white silky long hair, and the fair structure of her face.

His eyes also found her milky white eyes which made her scary when she was staring someone. Her eyes were always blank. Quite literally. And you never knew where she was looking at. The same was with most Arkanians onboard.

His musings were interrupted a soft chuckle coming from Thelea. He startled and looked up to her face that was still facing forward. "You kept looking at me from time to time, Wellen."

Wellen felt heat creeping to his face. "I…" That was all he could say, when Thelea turned to look at him. He felt his arm moving upwards, all on its own. Slowly his right hand reached forward and upwards, until it finally found a resting place on her cheek.

He felt her to tense under his touch, but soon she relaxed. Neither did any move to break the contact. Her eyes were unreadable as their gazes locked. "Thelea, when..?"

He was silenced as she placed one clawed finger on his lips. "Don't say it. You want to know when your feelings for me got as deep as they are now." He only nodded, not even being surprised by her apparent ability to read thoughts. She was a Jedi, after all. And he already knew she wasn't reading thoughts, but emotions, and the Force.

Silence reigned a bit longer, before Thelea removed her finger from his lips, and stood up. "This cannot be, Wellen. I'm your direct superior officer. Not to mention that I'm not a human, when you are."

She started walking towards the exit but was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. She turned her head to look at Wellen who had got to his feet and stopped her. Wellen wasn't short, but she towered over him easily. "Captain Carlan, let go of my arm. This is an order."

Her voice had turned harsh, but he wouldn't relent. Instead of letting her go, he tugged at her arm abruptly, bringing her to him, face to face, only little space between them. "I don't care about those things, Thelea. I'm falling in love with you."

Her eyes widened at his words, but before she had any time to respond, he closed the space between them and pressed his lips to hers.

At first she stiffened at the contact, but as his lips moved against hers, she responded to the kiss. But only for a few seconds, before she freed herself from his loosened grip and was meters away from him in an instant.

Locking their gazes once more she spoke. "I will leave to take care of a personal matter. The ship is until then in your command. If my fleet is sent somewhere before my return, another admiral will command it."

As soon as her last word was said, she left, leaving one very stunned Corellian standing among the plants that were from his native planet Corellia.

* * *

"So, you still wish to go, child?" The man who had talked studied his daughter carefully.

Thelea glared at the older man, for his choice of words, but decided to let is slide for now. "Yes, father."

Thelon Jeth narrowed his white eyes at her. "You know it will be dangerous, do you not?"

She bowed her head. "Yes, father. This is something I must do."

He placed his clawed hands on her shoulders. "Then go. May the Force be with you, my child. Be careful."

* * *

Thelea stood in front of ship that was built more than four millennia ago. This particular hangar was used to hold the famed SunGem, the seventy meters long _Delaya_-class courier, that could match most star fighters in speed and manoeuvrability. The SunGem was once owned by Arca Jeth, her ancestor, who had built inside it more than adequate facilities for training Jedi.

She entered the ship and after leaving the bag that had the things she needed at one of the storage spaces, she made her way to the cockpit, and strapped in. As soon as the hangar roof was opened, she switched on the repulsorlift engines that lifted the ship through the opening.

The 21 ionengines were already warming up, and as soon as she was high enough, she switched to them. She manoeuvred the ship by the Armada, and as soon as she was far from any gravity field, she checked if the navigation computer had made its calculations.

It had. So, she activated the hyperdrive, and was on her way.

* * *

Wellen had stood in front of the bridge's viewports for fifteen minutes before a courier craft was noticed leaving the Arkania. His eyes followed as the ship he knew to be Sungem flew by the fleet, and eventually made a hyperspace jump.

After the ship had vanished, Wellen walked to his command post and sat down. He was immediately approached by one of the younger officers, who wasn't sure if he should speak or not. Wellen solved that problem. "What is it?"

"Umm, sir. I was told to tell you, that we have orders." He held a datapad at his captain, who took it curiously. He glanced at the text the screen showed before handing it back to the young Arkanian.

Then he stood up. "Listen up, everyone." Right away all eyes on the bridge were trained on him. "We will leave for a mission as soon as the substitute admiral arrives. Treat this one as you would treat our own admiral. Is this clear?"

The crew agreed and Wellen sat back to his command chair, before turning his attention to his memories of what happened between him and Thelea. The words that left his mouth were whispered, and no one else in the bridge was able to hear them. "Be back soon, dear."


	2. Search begins

AN: Long wait... Sorry! Too many stories to write at the same time. -sigh- Anyways, I'm introducing more characters, some OC's, some not. I mention Kir Kanos, he's from Crimson Empire. I don't remember if he had any family, but for the purposes of this fic, he has (living). Katraasii space port is seen in PC game Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith.

DISCLAIMER: Thelea, Wellen, Marsh, Ken are mine, Rukh, Thrawn, Drayson, Pellaeon, Wedge aren't. SW isn't mine. The plot of this fanfiction is.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Thrawn glanced around him as he walked towards the ramp that led out from the hangar. The spaceport was small but amazingly well kept. Everything he saw seemed to be in quite good condition, despite the changes that had been brought to Empire's financial status by the death of the Emperor, as well as the loss of Coruscant to the Rebels, who now called themselves 'the New Republic'.

As he walked down the ramp he glanced at his sides, and found that Captain Pellaeon was walking on his right hand side, and his personal noghri bodyguard Rukh was on his left. A group of stormtroopers were escorting them. Excellent. Now to meet the prefect and the one time Royal Guard's man.

As they exited the hangar building, they were met by a group of Imperials. He stopped his group in front of the other one, and was approached by the man who, judging by his rank badge, was the prefect.

The prefect saluted. "Welcome to the Katraasii spaceport, sir. I'm the prefect in charge in this spaceport. The young man next to me is Ken Kanos, who used to be part of the Royal Guard."

The admiral's red eyes found the young man in question. The name Kanos, he had heard it before, and the boy indeed had some traits of the man he knew having that surname. "Are you related to a Royal Guard's man known as Kir Kanos?"

The boy blinked, seemingly surprised. "Umm, he's my older brother, sir."

Admiral's gaze found the prefect again. "Is he sensitive to the Force?"

The prefect nodded. "Yes, sir."

Thrawn smiled. "Good." His attention went back to the boy. "We are leaving immediately. You are to follow me to the bridge as soon as we have arrived at _Chimaera_. Leave your belongings in the shuttle, they will be transported to your quarters."

* * *

Ken Kanos was standing next to his new superior's commanding chair, while the said superior was sitting in it, looking at the holographic picture that was projected in front of them. The woman in projection was tall, had a golden hued skin, white long hair, milky white eyes, and what appeared to be clawed hands.

His eyes widened at recognition. "Sir, is she an Arkanian?"

He heard a soft chuckle from next to him, before the Admiral spoke. "Yes, she is. I see you have heard of them."

Ken swallowed hard. Arkanians had a… reputation. "Uh, sir, why are we looking for her? The prefect only told me that I was supposed to find someone who had been on a personal leave for too long. This someone, I believe, was one of Emperor's Fists."

Thrawn kept his silence for a moment, and just when Ken was about to repeat the question, the Admiral finally spoke. "I will tell you what we know of her. She was born in Arkania, but was raised by Emperor's son.

"Soon after she joined the Empire, the Emperor made her one of her fists. Some time after Emperor's death, she became part of something we call as Infiltrator wing, and eventually was infiltrated to Coruscant.

"Then, three years ago, she requested, and was granted, a personal leave. There are no records of further explanations from her part. She has not been heard from since."

Ken turned to look at the Admiral. "Sir, why are you looking for her now? Why not before, or later, after giving her time to return anyway."

He gulped as Thrawn's red eyes narrowed at him momentarily, before his eyes went to the projection. "She is an important asset to the Empire. I do not wish to lose someone like her, especially not to the Rebels."

Ken's eyes widened as he realized what the blue skinned admiral was insinuating. "You think she left the Empire to join the New Republic, and never had any intentions to return from her leave."

Thrawn inclined his head. "Yes. It is possible that she has done just that. If she has, she will be treated as a traitor. I prefer having her alive, on our side, though."

Ken turned to look at the projection. He hadn't missed the glint of something that had flashed through Thrawn's eyes. He nearly shivered at the memory.

* * *

Thelea was in _SunGem_'s cockpit, looking at the moon that was innocently floating through space. Yes, innocently. But she knew better. She knew who was in there, waiting for its prey.

Reluctantly she landed the ship nearby an abandoned rebel base and walked to the base command room. To her 'delight' she found that there were still something usable for her left untouched in the base, after the Alliance had evacuated, and the Imperials had come.

She took a data card from where it had fallen, or placed in purpose, from between a desk and a wall, and placed it to her datapad.

The data card's contents came visible to the datapad's screen, and she was relieved and anxious at the same time. Relieved that she didn't have to go through the entire jungle, but anxious that she couldn't just leave because she couldn't find what she was looking for.

Not that she would have, of course. A lot depended on this.

* * *

Admiral Drayson was sitting behind his desk in Coruscant, two data cards in front of him. His datapad was lying in between the cards, and he grabbed his comlink. "This is Admiral Drayson. Get me Wedge Antilles, now."

He only had to wait for a moment before there was a knock at his door. "Enter."

His door slid open and the leader of the Rogue Squadron entered his room. "You wanted to see me?"

He waved at the chair opposite from him. "Yes, sit down. I have a mission for you."

Wedge looked at him curiously as he sat down. "What is it?"

The admiral held his silence, and just pushed the datapad and the data cards at the Rogue Leader, who took them, confused. He checked the cards with the datapad, and as he realised what they were, his eyes widened and he glanced at the admiral. "These are personnel files, of two of our pilots."

Admiral nodded. "Wellen Carlan, and Thelea Jeth. They have both been in personal leave for three years, and we're getting worried. Either they're dead or otherwise in trouble…"

Wedge finished for him. "…or betrayed us and joined the Empire."

Drayson nodded again. "Carlan was Imperial once, and Jeth was raised by a man who appears to be the Emperor's son."

Wedge got to his feet, placing the cards and the datapad on the desk. "I'll find them. If you don't mind I'll ask Luke to come with me. He's a Jedi, like Jeth."

* * *

Wellen Carlan was standing in front of one of the view ports on the _Moonlord_'s bridge. His eyes were at the Hyperspace through which they were travelling at the moment. His thoughts were at Thelea.

She had told him that she had to leave to take care of a personal matter. She hadn't explained any further, and he was getting worried. No one seemed to know where she was going, or when she was returning.

He startled as he heard the substitute admiral's voice breaking through his reverie. "Captain, she will be fine. Mitth'el'eana Jeth is Arkanian, and they don't know how to lose a fight or how not to get out of trouble."

Wellen turned to look at the Chiss Admiral. "Mitth'el'eana? Do you mean Thelea?"

Admiral Marsh grinned. "Mitth'el'eana is her real name. Thelea is only the core name. Like the name you know me by. And don't ask me why she has that kind of name, I don't know."

Wellen narrowed his eyes a bit. "Sir, how did you know I was thinking about her?"

Admiral chuckled. "It's obvious that you love her. It wasn't difficult to guess."

Wellen sighed, and was already turning away, before he remembered something he had thought about earlier. "Admiral, did she explain to you where she went? She only told me that she had to deal with personal matter."

Admiral's red eyes flashed. "She is taking a dangerous journey, looking for things and people she shouldn't. If she forgets who she is, the Dark Side will have her. If she succeeds, she will save the future."

Wellen got confused. "Could you explain, sir?"

The admiral only grins. "You'll understand some day. Now we must concentrate on our mission." He pointed at the view port, and as Wellen turned around, he saw that the ship was slowing down, and was now back in real space.

Admiral's words were true, he had a job to do.


	3. A new threat  revealed

AN: It's been way too long since I last updated. Sorry! Hopefully my plot twist makes up for it.

Part in italics is a flashback.

DISCLAIMERS: Emperor's Hammer, Infiltrator Wing as 'part' of it, is -or was, I'm not sure if it still exists- an Internet community. So I won't take credit for that or its officers that I might use in this fiction, except for Thelea, Admiral Lendoan, and Gared Jones. Two latters were mentioned in "An Enemy Within". I have so far only used one EH officer I didn't create so far, that I can remember. I mentioned his name in AEW. This was the Grand Admiral of EH of the time. Clone Emperor, or idea of it, is from the 'Dark Empire'. Exar Kun, Palpatine, Wedge, Luke aren't mine. Ulic's story can be found from Wookiepedia, I expained it only shortly. Corinne Sunrider was my character in Bounty Hunter's guild, another brothersite, or something like that, of the Emperor's Hammer.

Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 3

Ken Kanos was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't looking forward to this, not even a bit.

He really had nothing against looking for someone who had been on leave for too long, but it was _who_ he was looking for that bothered him. Trying to locate an Emperor's Fist, or any Jedi really, who wanted to stay hidden was very difficult.

Looking for an Arkanian who wanted to stay hidden was downright _impossible_.

He closed his eyes, not trying to sleep, but to try if he could remember if his brother had ever told him of this woman, or if he had met her himself.

He opened his eyes suddenly. He had seen the woman before, at the Palace.

Narrowing his eyes he went through that encounter. It was around the time the first Death Star had been destroyed.

* * *

_He was__ at the Emperor's throne room gaping behind his helmet's mask at the door through which a stormtrooper had just left the room through. The man had come to tell the Emperor that the Grand Moff Tarkin had ordered the space station to be moved to Alderaan, and it had arrived there just a moment ago._

_He heard the Emperor move o__n his throne, and turned to look at him, remembering to close his mouth, only to meet his yellow gaze._

_He felt that the Emperor was searching for something in his soul. He tried to turn his gaze away, but he couldn't._

_Luckily the Emperor himself broke the gaze and turned to look at the door, frowning._

_Ken followed his gaze, wondering what was going on._

_Soon enough he found out, when he heard noises, men shouting something he couldn't quite make out. _

_And then the door opened, revealing a woman barging in to the room. And she was furious. Golden hued skin, silvery white hair, milky white eyes, and four-fingered, clawed hands. He recalled vaguely seeing similar features in only one species. The Arkanians._

_The woman walked towards the Emperor, prompting two of his fellow red clad men from the Royal Guard to approach her, in order to remove her from the room, he supposed._

_He was startled by the Emperor's voice. The look on his face was odd, and there was something he couldn't quite identify in his voice as he spoke to the guards. "Let her come." Then his attention went to the approaching woman._

_She walked a bit closer, halting only about two meters from the throne. Ken moved to stand next to her, while another guard took to stand on the other side of her. Two other guards took their places at the Emperor's side._

_The woman glared at each guard standing by her, before the Emperor's voice gained attention from everyone in the room. "What brings you here? I believe you had your orders."_

_Ken glanced at the woman who was seemingly seething. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously, and when she spoke, he could tell that she was trying to hold her fury at bay, since only a bit of the fury he saw in her eyes actually reached her voice._

_Her words made him frown. "Do you have any idea what you have just done? Huh?"_

_If the Emperor had any idea, he didn't show it. "I'm afraid you will have to explain."_

_So she did. Her response made him gape at the woman, shocked. "Your creation just killed millions of innocent people!"_

_Then, she let out a sound that could've been a growl, or maybe a snarl, before she turned around and left the room._

* * *

Only moments after she had left, he had heard that right before she had barged in, the Death Star had destroyed the planet of Alderaan.

He sat up on his bed. Odd. How come he hadn't remembered it before, when he had seen the holographic picture?

Maybe he had just associated that woman with the memory only now when he had actually tried to recall her face from his past.

He shrugged and went back on his back. It didn't really matter now. What did matter was that he would find her.

He would leave everything else to the others, though. If she needed to be captured… He shivered at the thought. He wanted to be far when that happened.

Nevermind that he was one of the best, one time member of the elite Royal Guard. Sure, she was a woman, but she was also an Emperor's Fist. Had she been a human, he might've been able to defeat her if he would have to.

Possibly.

But she was an Arkanian. He shivered again. They might, or might not, be a match in fighting skills and physical strength, but add her skills in the Force to that.

He really wouldn't have a chance.

Again he hoped, maybe against hope, that they wouldn't have to capture her, and that if they would, he wouldn't be ordered to do the capturing.

* * *

Thelea was standing in front of a Massassi temple. She could feel the Dark Side flowing from there, whispering to her, trying to scare her. Or maybe it was trying to get her to accept it. She wasn't quite sure, which.

She ignored it. Fear led to the Dark Side just well as if she had just accepted it, and she wouldn't want that right now.

Besides, the nervousness she had felt earlier was gone. The one in there was already dead. He wouldn't be able to hurt her physically.

Besides, she was a Jedi. If it would appear that he could physically harm her, she always could rely on the Force.

He was once a Jedi too, a Dark Side user, but she chose to ignore this. He was still dead, just shadow of what he used to be.

Feeling confident she stepped in to the temple, only to feel shivers running through her spine when she heard a voice coming from her side.

"An Arkanian, I presume. A Jedi, too. I knew an Arkanian Jedi Master once."

She turned her face to her right, but couldn't see anything at first. Then, a tall black haired man stepped from the shadows.

Or a ghost of one. She had seen the pictures of this man. Long hair, scars on one cheek… It was him alright. "Exar Kun. I'm here to see you."

The response she got from him was an arched eyebrow.

* * *

Wedge Antilles was sitting in a bar at Tangrene, waiting for Luke Skywalker to finish with his search for clues. Wedge himself had already finished his questioning, and was now getting impatient.

He didn't have to wait for long, when the boy came to him, grinning widely. "She visited here three years ago, alright."

Luke sat down before continuing. "She came here using an ID of a Bounty Hunter, Corinne Sunrider. She told the guards that she came here to meet an informant concerning a crime that had happened in Nar Shaddaa. If she actually met someone, I don't know. She was seen at this bar, talking to someone, though."

Wedge blinked. How could he have found out all that? He had not much time to think about it when Luke continued. "She was seen at the Prefect's office, and this caused the Imperials to chase her when she left the planet. A Star Destroyer caught her in its tractor beams, but for some reason she got away."

The Corellian nodded. "She was at the office to get information for the New Republic. It was in her Personnel file."

Luke frowned. "I wonder how she got away from the Imperials."

Wedge sighed. "According to what I found out, it appears that they let her go."

He watched Luke's eyes widen, as he continued. "They had her ship disabled, and caught in the tractor beam, pulling her in. And then her ship was suddenly free, and fleeing from the Star Destroyer. A drunken officer mentioned that right before she got away a message was received. He didn't know what it said, or who had sent it. He wasn't even sure it had anything to do with her getting away."

They held their silence for what felt hours, before Luke finally spoke. "We have to consider the possibility that she was then at least thinking about joining the Empire."

Wedge shook his head. "She joined us to get justice for a friend who was killed by an Imperial. Why would she join them?"

By Luke's expression, the young Jedi couldn't say.

* * *

Wellen was standing next to Admiral Marsh's command chair on the bridge of the _Moonlord._ Both men were gazing at the planet below them.

A planet Wellen was very familiar of.

He turned to the admiral. "Sir, is that the Lost Planet of Jedi?"

Marsh chuckled, keeping his gaze at the planet. "Yes, it is."

Wellen's gaze went back to the planet, and he frowned. "Why are we here, Sir? How is that place connected to our mission?"

Now Marsh turned his red gaze at Wellen, who met the admiral's gaze, nearly startling, for the umpteenth time, because of those eyes. "Captain, the planet _is_ our mission. Darkness is returning to the galaxy, and we need to be ready for it."

Wellen blinked. "What?"

Marsh's gaze went back to the planet, but he held his silence.

Wellen stared at the admiral, confused. What was going on?

Finally Marsh turned to look at him. "Captain, listen to me carefully. Emperor Palpatine lives. Or actually it's his clone. He is certainly after this place. He wants the power of the Valley to himself. We're here to prevent that."

Wellen gulped. Palpatine… alive? Not good. Not good at all.

Then Marsh spoke again, gaining his full attention. "Mitth'el'eana is aware of something dark being after the Valley, but she doesn't know yet that it's Palpatine. She is on Yavin Four, planning to stop the darkness with methods of their own. She's following steps of Ulic Qel-Droma."

Wellen's eyes widened. He knew that name. And he knew what Ulic Qel-Droma had done after Arca Jeth had been killed. He had more or less joined Exar Kun to avenge the killing of his master.

The Corellian took a sharp breath before speaking. "She is planning to learn about the Dark Side from a Dark Lord of the Sith…"

Marsh inclined his head. "Yes. She informed me that she would come straight here from there as soon as she's ready. If Palpatine hasn't found this place before that, she is going after him. Or rather, she's going after the darkness."

Wellen frowned. "Why she would first come here, and then go looking for Palpatine? Why not going to look for him as soon as she leaves Yavin?"

Marsh was quiet again, gazing at the planet.

Wellen cleared his throat. He didn't like the admiral's behaviour. There was something highly disturbing about it. "Admiral?"

For a moment longer the Chiss was quiet, until finally he turned his eyes at Wellen and spoke. "There are other sources of power, captain. Palpatine might be after a darker one. It's similar to the Valley here, only that it is an ancient burial ground of the Sith. We don't know if he even knows of it. Also, the Arkanian Holocron that is located here can tell its location."

Now Wellen got it. "Arkanian Holocron holds all the information of the galaxy. It'll tell if Palpatine is aware of the other place, or if he has actually found it. And if it's not too late, she could get the location from the holocron and then go there to stop him."

Marsh nodded. "Yes."

A thought crossed Wellen's mind. "But if Palpatine gets the power in the other place, or this one's, can anyone stop him?"

The Chiss smirked. "He won't get in here, even if he would find the coordinates, which shouldn't be anywhere he could reach them, he can't get pass us. Palpatine never tried to attack Arkania, regardless of some of the valuable sources it has, because even he was afraid of the Arkanian Armada. Besides, Mitth'el'eana's father will join us soon. And he's quite strong Jedi."

Wellen noticed that his admiral failed to answer to all the parts of his question. "And if he gets the power of the other place?"

Marsh sighed. "Then the woman you love must take the power of this place to defeat him. However, that power will return to here eventually. If she's still alive when it happens, her body will break. She might quite well die."

* * *

Two members of the Royal Guard were kneeling in front of a cloaked figure standing its back at them. They were in a large room in an Imperial Administration building on the planet Byss.

The men had given their report to the man standing in front of them. And the report hadn't been very positive.

The two startled as the voice of their master came from the youngish clone body. "I want the Valley found. The ones I put to do the job have failed me. Have them informed that I will not accept further failure."

The guards exchanged a glance through the visors of their helmets. The Emperor had been looking for the Valley of the Jedi to get to use its power, but no one had been able to find it.

They turned their faces back at the floor as the Emperor spoke again. "Also, inform the ones who are looking for my Fists, that their priority is to find Thelea Jeth and Mara Jade."

He held his silence for a moment to allow the earlier words to be absorbed before continuing. "Only one of my Grand Admirals is still alive. Relay him an order to visit here, as soon as possible."

The two acknowledged the orders and stood up. One moved to the Emperor's side, and one walked to the door, opened it, and relayed the orders to a young officer standing on the other side. This officer was the one who had brought the news.

After hearing what he was supposed to do, the young officer nodded and left. Then the door closed and the guard joined the other one, taking his place on the other side of their Emperor.


	4. Two Valleys

AN: I'm sorry for the delay, I've been working on my thesis, and now that it's finally done I can concentrate on updating again. Of this chapter: Some of the characters that have been in other ones aren't seen; also there's going to be one more new character. His identity will be revealed later.

DISCLAIMER: Mitth'el'eana Jeth, Thelon Jeth, and the Guardian of the Valley are mine, Luke Skywalker, Wedge Antilles, Exar Kun, Thrawn, and Arca Jeth belong to their creators. Also there's a phrase from the Jedi Outcast (about size of the ship).

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 4

Grand Admiral Thrawn was in his command room onboard Chimaera, sitting in his command chair, gazing down the datapad in his hands. The screen of the aforementioned device held an encoded message from Byss, a message he had been able to decode by using code key he had been given by the man who had given him this rank.

The man happened to be the same than the one who had sent out this message, apparently.

The Emperor.

The same one who had been presumed being no longer among the living, slain by his own apprentice.

He read the message again. The Emperor ordered him to pay him a visit at Byss, as soon as possible.

He wondered why Palpatine would choose this time to give this order. Why not earlier? Unless of course he hadn't been around earlier.

Since he had been killed, according to reliable sources, there was only one explanation. He was a clone. Or the one killed at Endor had been one.

Possibly both.

Another thing he wondered was why the Emperor had chosen to send him message like this, instead of simply using normal contact frequencies.

He decided to ask that from the Dark Lord of the Sith himself.

Then he reached for the comlink on his chair, and switched it on. "Captain, set course for Byss. We will leave as soon as Chimaera is ready."

After Pellaeon's confused confirmation Thrawn leaned back on his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if this has something to do with our elusive Arkanian…"

* * *

The ghostly figure of Exar Kun looked at the young Arkanian incredulously. The woman had got to be kidding. And this was exactly what he told her. "Your idea is foolish, woman. What else can a Jedi learn from the Sith than what needed to become one herself?"

The Jedi who was sitting in front of him cross-legged shrugged. "Ulic Qel-Droma was fairly successful. Except for the fact that he did turn to the Dark Side and killed his brother. I will not follow that path, though. Still I need to learn about the Dark Side from a master, a Sith Lord. You're the only one still around."

Kun sighed. This woman seemed to have a lot of confidence, believing that she would be left untouched by the darkness she was so willing to learn about. Yet, she had to be desperate, seeing that Arkanians rarely relied on other than their own when needing help.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to read her, to figure out what she was hiding. This couldn't be her true purpose, could it? Learning about the Dark Side in order to understand it, to find its weaknesses.

He couldn't figure out what the real purpose of her 'mission' was, so he decided to ask. "You claim your purpose is to learn about the Dark Side in order to defeat it. Have you told me what you're really after?"

For a second he could've sworn that a sheepish smile crossed her lips before her face was serene again. Then, she sighed. "Something dark is rising in the galaxy, and I'm sure it's after the Valley. We've-"

Kun raised her hand to stop her. Something she had said rang a bell in his mind. "Valley?"

She tilted his head a bit. "Yes, the Valley of the Jedi. That something is after its power, I'm sure of it."

Kun frowned. "Are you sure it's that Valley he's after? It's not the only source of power in the galaxy."

He watched fairly amused as she blinked and an expression of total confusion flashed through her face before the serenity returned. "What do you mean?"

The Dark Lord of the Sith sighed. "Valley of the Jedi is an ancient burial ground for the Jedi. However, the Sith has one of its own, Valley of the Dark Lords. If this 'darkness' you speak of is aware of this place, it might seek it rather than your Valley."

She inclined her head. "I've heard legends of a place like that… It's real? Where is it?"

He grinned. "Haven't you been told my story? How I became a Dark Lord of the Sith?"

She frowned before realization hit her. "Korriban! It's said you went there to study the Sith, but ended up becoming one of the Sith Lords."

He nodded. "Yes, that Valley is located on planet Korriban, the heart of the long gone Sith Empire."

She seemed to hesitate before speaking up again. "Uh, is there any way to seal that power, to make sure this darkness can't get hold of it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know any such method."

She sighed. "Too bad… So, I've got to use the power of the Valley myself, then."

A silence fell after her words, silence that was soon broken by Kun, after he had noticed that she seemed really desperate. He knew what she needed, and knew what he needed, and that she could give it to him.

His words were planned carefully, for she probably knew better than to trust someone like him. "May I suggest a bargain? A favour for a favour?"

She glanced at him curiously. He couldn't detect any doubt on her. Odd. Yet, now he had her attention, so he could continue. "I give you what you need to defeat this darkness, and you give me what I need."

_ Now_ he noticed suspicion on her face. "What could be so important to a Dark Lord that he would willingly help a Jedi to defeat something dark?"

He sighed and moved his gaze to side so that he was now watching one of the walls of his own tomb. "What I need is to be free. When I was defeated by Jedi four millennia ago, my spirit was trapped here. Four thousand years is a long time to spend trapped in a one place. This is the reason I'm willing to help you."

After a moment she nodded. "All right. I think we have a deal then."

* * *

Two X-wing fighters were approaching Arkania, when they were intercepted by a huge ship. Wedge's comment on the ship had been something of the lines 'whaladon of a ship'. Luke could understand his friend's reaction, since the ship made the Executor look like a fighter.

That wasn't even an opinion based on what he remembered, but rather something he saw with his on eyes, because there seemed to be a ship that looked like Executor flying on the big one's starboard side.

Luke startled as a voice suddenly came out from his helmet's comlink. "X-wing fighters, you have entered Arkanian space. Identify yourselves and your business here."

The Jedi responded quickly. "This is Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and Commander Wedge Antilles of the New Republic. We're here on mission to locate two of our missing officers. We're worried something might've happened to them."

The man's voice on the other end sounded amused. "And what does our planet has to do with these officers?"

Luke's response came just as quickly as the one before. "One of these officers is an Arkanian, so we were hoping that at least someone on her home planet would've heard of either her or possibly of both of them."

There was a short pause from the other end, until the voice returned. "Both X-wings are to dock with _Sunlord_. The Elder commanding the Armada will meet you at the hangar."

* * *

Thelon Jeth frowned at the two approaching fighters. The two officers their pilots were looking for… Could they be his daughter and the Corellian?

They had to be. He didn't know any other Arkanian who had worked for the New Republic than his daughter.

He decided to ask the two face to face as soon as possible. He turned and started walking at the doors leading out of the bridge, before stopping to give an order. "We can't wait until the matter has been dealt with these two. We have to leave for Ruusan as soon as possible."

Captain of the _Sunlord_ glanced at him, not believing his ears. "Sir?"

Thelon turned his head to look at the captain over his shoulder. "As soon as those two fighters have landed on hangar, make the jump. Any possible consequence with the New Republic has to wait for later time."

With this said he left the bridge and hurried through the massive ship towards the hangars, using his skills in Force to hasten his steps whenever possible.

Soon enough he was standing behind a blast door, waiting for the magnetic field to be reactivated after it had been opened to let the fighters in.

After thirty seconds the blast door opened to reveal the two fighters' landing gears just making contact with the hangar floor. He walked closer and stopped to wait the pilots to emerge from their fighters.

He didn't have to wait for long before two men clad in flight suits jumped out of the cockpits, nearly simultaneously. He observed how the two began to walk towards him and as soon as they had reached him they removed their helmets.

Both men seemed to have tad boyish faces, but that where the similarities ended. The one on the left had blond hair and blue eyes, and the one on right had brown hair and hazel eyes. The one on the left had the force with him, so the Arkanian was able to tell that he was the Jedi Skywalker.

Arkanian addressed the both men, glancing from the Jedi to the other man. "Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Commander Wedge Antilles of the New Republic. Welcome on board the _Sunlord_, the command craft of the Arkanian Armada. I'm the Elder in charge of the Armada, Thelon Jeth."

The two pilots exchanged a glance when he introduced himself, and the Jedi spoke. "Thank you. Uh… Did you say your name was Jeth?"

Thelon nodded. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Luke scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, you see, one of the two we're looking for is Thelea Jeth. Are you related to her?"

The Arkanian inclined his head. "Mitth'el'eana is my daughter."

He observed how their eyes widened, and Luke opened his mouth as if to say something, but was stopped when the ship jerked slightly. They had made the jump to the Hyperspace.

The two exchanged glances again, before both turned at the Arkanian, frowning. Luke was the one who spoke. "Was that what I think it was? Did we just jump to the Hyperspace?"

Thelon nodded curtly. "We have an urgent mission on a planet far from here. We couldn't waste time discussing here, and then waiting when you would leave."

Wedge spoke next, before Luke could. "I haven't heard of any situation that might require this urgent action."

Thelon glanced at the young man. "I will explain it, soon. Now, if you both would follow me to one of our conference rooms. I believe we have a lot of topics that require discussion."

* * *

On planet Ruusan, within confines of the Valley of the Jedi, an Arkanian man stood in front of a statue of his kinsman, Arca Jeth. "I am sure you are aware of your descendant's plans, Master Arca."

After he had finished his sentence, the statue began to glow and a ghostly figure emanating light emerged from it.

The figure responded to the man who seemed to have faced a ghost of millennia old Jedi Master earlier, judging by his calm face. "Yes, I am. As we speak she's on the Fourth moon of Yavin to speak with Exar Kun."

The living Arkanian sighed quietly. "So she has already found him. Will she succeed?"

The ancient Jedi Master closed his eyes and seemed to reach out to the Force, trying to find the answer to that question. Soon he opened them again, having found what he was looking for. "If she has to do it alone, she might succeed, but it will have a high price. If she has friends to fight alongside her, she will succeed."

The Guardian of the Valley smiled a bit at this. "She has friends and family who will fight alongside her, so I believe chances are for us."

Arca Jeth shook his head slowly. "If she becomes a dark-sider, the people who are supporting her might find themselves against her. The Darkness is rising once more, and he seeks power of either or both of the Valleys."

The Guardian swallowed hard. "What can we do?"

The ghost chuckled softly. "You know already." Then his gaze shifted away from the Guardian who followed it at an artefact floating over its pedestal.

The Guardian's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

The old Jedi Master's voice echoed grimly in the chamber. "If things go that far, that has to be used. Let us hope things will never escalate enough for that to be needed."

* * *

A small fighter floated above the planet Korriban. Its pilot glanced at his scanner display, and from the screen his eyes went to the planet below him.

The data on his screen confirmed what he could sense. This was indeed the planet he had been looking for. Somewhere down there was the Valley of the Dark Lords.

Getting here had been easy, and going down there wouldn't be hard at all.

However, it was the Valley itself that would be difficult to reach. The Valley floor was barely wide enough for him to land the fighter properly, but it still seemed to be filled with dangers, such as bottomless pits, guards, and so on.

Or so the stories told. If they were created only to drive too curious people away they would be exaggerated.

Not that he would be driven away by those stories. Even if they were accurate, he knew that he wouldn't have to worry about anything that might attempt to stop him down there.

He glanced at his side where his lightsaber was lying. A man with his skills and training… Who could stop him?

No one.


	5. Trials

AN: It's been _way_too long since the last update. To apologize that, I'm giving you a 13-paged chapter. It'll take the story a leap forward. The character whose identity I'll keep hidden for a while longer is inspired by Galen Marek (aka The Apprentice or Starkiller), the main character in The Force Unleashed (game, book, etc).

There are two fighting scenes, one part of 'trials', this one is a longer scene. Check Wookieepedia for more info of the Jedi Trials, if you're interested. The fighting scenes refused to come out the way I intended them to, but I hope it doesn't matter. (Any advice of how to make the future scenes better are welcome.)

DISCLAIMER: Thelea, Guardian, Ken Kanos, and Thelon are mine. Star Wars characters belong to their creators.

Chapter 5

The Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera was floating above the Imperial throne world Byss. The ship had arrived here only a moment earlier, but the Lambda-class shuttle Scylla was already on its way to the planet's surface, carrying Grand Admiral Thrawn, Captain Pellaeon, and Ken Kanos inside it. The one time member of the Emperor's Royal Guard had insisted that he would be allowed to join the two officers to the planet after he had heard that it had been the Emperor himself who had sent the order to visit Byss.

At the moment the young man was sitting on his seat, eyes closed, concentrating his thoughts. Everyone else had believed that after the Emperor, or rather, one of his clones, had been killed on the Second Death Star, he wouldn't come back. His chosen ones, the Royal Guard, had known better. They had been told about the clones on Byss, the knowledge only few had had at the point.

It seemed to Ken that even the Grand Admiral hadn't known. He wondered for a moment if any of the Grand Admirals had known. Vader had known, for sure.

Or had he?

Ken recalled that Emperor hadn't seemed to trust his apprentice completely, so it was possible that he hadn't known of it.

For a moment he wondered if the Arkanian they were looking for knew of the clones.

He shook the doubts from his mind. She had been Emperor's Hand. Surely he had told her. And even if he hadn't, he was quite sure that the woman would have been able to sense that the Emperor she knew was a clone. He knew that clones 'felt' different to those who could sense the Force.

That would include him too, seeing that he was Force Sensitive. Not very strong, though, which could explain why he couldn't really sense if someone was a clone or not.

He startled as he felt a jab on his right side. He opened his eyes and turned to look at Captain Pellaeon who was looking at him. "Sir?"

The Captain waved at the viewport across from them. "We're almost on the ground."

The young man glanced through the transparisteel window and saw that they were already landing. "Yes, sir."

"You seemed to be lost in your own world, Guardsman. When we face Miss Jeth such occurrence is not safe."

Ken turned to look at the Grand Admiral. "I'm sorry, Sir. I will remember that, Sir."

The Grand Admiral's red eyes studied the young human for a moment. "Do you think she knows of Byss and the clones?"

He frowned. Could the Chiss read minds? "I'm not completely sure, Sir, but I do think that she knows."

The Admiral tilted his head to one side. "Explain."

He recalled his ponderings from moment earlier. "First of all, she used to be an Emperor's Hand. I know that some were closer to the Emperor than the others. Seeing that she was raised by Emperor's son, and that I remember how she talked to him like no other would dare to and wasn't punished, I believe he told her. And secondly, even if he hadn't told her, she is quite smart, after all, she _is_ an Arkanian and they are known to have high level of logical intelligence, and could have easily put one and one together, since she must've known that the Emperor was in a clone body when he was killed."

Thrawn frowned. "How she could've known if we assume he hadn't told her?"

Ken gave him a small grin. "I've heard that Force Sensitives can sense if someone is a clone or not. I'm not strong enough, or trained enough, to tell the difference, but I'm sure that she is."

The Grand Admiral inclined his head. "So, I wonder what she _does_ know."

Ken glanced at the Captain who was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face. Then they both turned to look at Thrawn whose red eyes were looking at their direction. The older human spoke before Ken could. "Sir?"

Thrawn shook his head. "Nothing. But now, shall we go?"

Ken blinked, before realizing that they had landed already. "Yes, Sir." Then he got to his feet and followed the two officers out of the shuttle.

* * *

Thrawn was looking at the back of the Emperor's throne. He was waiting for the clone to acknowledge his and the former Guardsman's presence.

He glanced on his right side where Ken Kanos was kneeling. His face was turned towards the floor. The boy had kneeled the moment the two red clad Guards had escorted the two here and they had halted in front of the throne.

Thrawn himself had preferred to remain standing. He respected the Emperor, but wasn't planning to kneel in front of a human.

Speaking of humans… He recalled that captain Pellaeon hadn't been happy when they had been told that he would have to wait outside the throne room.

The Chiss admiral's eyes found the throne once more, only a blink of an eye before it was turned around, revealing a younger clone body housing the Emperor's soul and consciousness at the moment.

The Emperor glanced at both of his guests before addressing them. "My guardsman, Grand Admiral. Welcome to Byss, the current Imperial Throne world. I have summoned you here for a reason. Of course I also wanted to know if you're still alive and loyal."

His yellow eyes found Kanos. "You left my Guard before you had time to show what you are willing and able to do for me. I will give you a chance to do so."

Then his eyes turned to Thrawn. "You were the last to receive the rank you hold. Also, you are the last living one. Rebels have dealt with all others. By the way, I must say I'm impressed how you were able to nearly bring Rebels, and their 'New Republic', to their knees."

Thrawn bowed his head slightly before meeting the yellow eyes. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Palpatine grinned. "I have a mission for you both."

The Chiss frowned. "We are already looking for Thelea Jeth, who was one of your Hands."

The Emperor shook his head. "She will be your secondary objective. I have people looking for her and Mara Jade already. Your primary objective is to find the Valley of the Dark Lords. In there you must locate a black Sith Holocron. Bring it to me."

Thrawn narrowed his eyes. "How are we supposed to find a place of Sith?"

Palpatine closed his eyes. "Go to Yavin IV. In there is a tomb of a Dark Lord of the Sith who has visited the Valley. I believe that information of it is somewhere there."

Thrawn nearly startled as the boy next to him spoke for the first time since they stepped inside the throne room. Also Palpatine opened his eyes and directed his attention to the boy. "What about the Valley of the Jedi? Wouldn't it be stronger place than the Sith one? After all, there have always been more Jedi than Sith."

The Emperor chuckled. "Yes, it would. However, I am sure that at least some of the Jedi know that I am alive again, and have at least as a precaution began to defend it. They might not know that I seek its power, but I doubt they will take any chances."

The Grand Admiral inclined his head. "What are your orders concerning the two Hands, if we happen to meet them?"

Palpatine's voice made chills run through his spine. "Bring them to me, alive. Not necessarily unharmed though. Then, I will teach them a lesson about loyalty."

* * *

Thelea stood in front of the ghost of Exar Kun, her mouth slightly agape. "What did you say?"

Kun sighed. "First of all, close your mouth."

She did so, prompting him to continue. "Do I really need to repeat myself, woman? If I am going to teach you to defeat the opponent you wish to defeat, I might as well do it properly. Take my lightsaber, so that I can teach you my techniques."

He observed as Thelea reached out with her hand and used the Force to pull the four millennia old double bladed lightsaber to her hand. She then activated the both blades and made a few test slashes with them.

So, someone had taught her about the art of using a double bladed lightsaber. He spoke to get her attention. "'Twin blades are harder to master, but a skilled user can make his enemies stampede over each other while running for cover.' This is what I have heard many times, especially after I chose to modify my saber to the double bladed version."

She grinned. "I've heard that too, when I wanted to learn how to fight using one."

He waved at the empty part of the huge room. "Show me what you have learned."

She nodded and moved to the where he waved at. Then she proceeded to slash at an imaginary opponent first with the other blade, then she flipped the weapon around to slash at the opponent to the other side with the other blade.

After that she back flipped only to leap in the air again to stab the opponent from above. She halted the blade just before it would've hit the floor, and using her free hand she launched herself to a flip and she twisted her body in the air so that she landed softly on her feet, facing the imaginary opponent.

She stood still for a short moment before charging again, this time twirling the weapon over her head, then from side to side, making Kun wonder where she was going to attack from.

He didn't have to wonder for long before she Pushed the imaginary opponent with the Force and then threw the blade at that direction, stopping the weapon with the Force just before it would've hit the wall after piercing the opponent.

Kun grinned. "I'm impressed. Seems to me that I only have to teach you one thing: the skill to telekinetically adjust the length and intensity of one or both of the blades, simultaneously, similarly or not, in the middle of a fight. That's a skill I mastered once."

She nodded. "And I will tell you all about the things that have happened after you died, especially during last few decades, such as the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War."

Hours later Thelea had learned everything Kun taught her. She also kept her part of the deal, when she began to tell him everything that she knew of that had happened after his death. The entire time he listened carefully to her words, absorbing every piece of information she gave him.

As she spoke, he kept a close attention to her face and body trying to find out the things that made her tense, because he was sure that those might be the most important things.

To his surprise, she didn't seem to tense at all. He cursed in his mind at this. Of course the woman had had training to control her body so well that her nervousness wouldn't show.

He nearly startled as he realized that she was silent. "Why did you stop?"

She gave him an odd look. "I finished already. I've told you everything I've been told and I have read about times before my birth, and every event that I remember since I was born."

He narrowed his eyes. "But you forgot to tell who's the current Dark Lord of the Sith."

For a blink of an eye he saw her tense, before she regained control of her body. "Well, I don't know. As I told you, Darth Sidious, or Emperor Palpatine, and his apprentice Darth Vader, or Anakin Skywalker, were both killed during the Battle of Endor."

He walked to her, keeping her gaze locked with his the whole time. As he halted in front of her he could've congratulated her for not retreating like most would've done. At the same time he cursed his current state, since now he couldn't grab her chin to show her that he meant business. "You're lying, woman. I can tell it."

For a moment he saw something, anger perhaps, flashing in her eyes before she narrowed them. "Vader is gone, for sure. As for Palpatine, well, he died too. So, I didn't lie to you. I just chose not to tell certain things."

He raised an eyebrow. "So, tell those things now."

She glared at him for a moment before her gaze suddenly turned calm. "The Palpatine who died during that battle, was a clone. He had had several clone bodies made after he discovered that a Dark Side illness was consuming his body from the inside. Before the original body died, he moved his soul, his consciousness, to a clone body. I don't know how many times he repeated this, but I know that it was him, in a clone body, that died above the moon of Endor."

Something she had told him gave him a reason to ask a question form her. "Tell me, could he have moved his consciousness to another body right before that clone body died? Or, could he have survived as a 'spirit', waiting for another clone body to be ready for him?"

He watched how her eyes widened. "You… You don't mean that! I mean… Palpatine is dead, and it's better for everyone if he stays that way."

"What did he do to you?" He paused after seeing a shadow moving across her face. "Or rather, what was he to you?"

Her gaze went to the floor. "I was one of his Hands. We were his eyes and ears in the Galaxy. We were his enforcers if needed. Also, his son raised and trained me, the son he never knew of."

Her eyes found him again. "The question you asked earlier, about Palpatine not have been defeated yet, the answer is 'possibly'. I do think it's possible that he's still around to-"

She stopped abruptly and he watched her eyes widening again. He frowned at this. "What is it?"

"The dark power that's rising… Could it be…"

"…him?" Kun finished her sentence, realizing the same thing she apparently had. "If it truly is him, I can bet he's after you too, whether he knows you have left his side or not."

The frightened look in her eyes turned determined. "This means that I must not allow him to get the power he's after."

He grinned. "So, are you planning to get the power to yourself?"

She startled. "The power in Korriban is dark, meaning that I can use it only if I turn to the Dark Side. Power in Ruusan is light, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to pay the price of absorbing all the power in there."

He frowned. She hadn't mentioned this before. "Price?"

She sighed. "My father told me once that taking power of the Valley means that you can never go back to what you were. He wouldn't explain more, even if I asked him to."

"What are you planning, then?"

For the first time he saw her lopsided smile. "I'm going to the Valley of the Jedi, of course. There is an artefact called Arkanian Holocron. It will have all the information I might need about this, about stopping him."

Moments later Thelea was in the _Sungem'_s cockpit, her two lightsabers on her side, since her original lightsaber had now a companion, Exar Kun's double bladed lightsaber.

He had insisted giving it to her, saying that first of all, he didn't need it anymore, and second of all, he wasn't sure if there was anyone else, besides himself of course, that he would allow using it.

She typed in to the navigation computer the coordinates of Ruusan, and as soon as the route had been calculated by the computer, she pulled the lever that prompted the ship to make the hyperspace jump.

* * *

Thelon glanced from Luke to Wedge. He had just finished telling them about the situation, and now the silence was reigning in the officer's briefing room the three were in.

Now he was expecting Luke to ask about the Valley, or possibly about the Emperor returning.

He was wrong, it was Wedge who spoke and his question had nothing to do about the Valley or the Emperor. "Where's Thelea, then?"

"My daughter has informed me of her intentions of finding a teacher to teach her about the Dark Side."

His words caused the two humans' eyes to widen. The humans glanced at each other, and then at him.

Luke spoke next. "Is she planning to become a dark sider?"

Thelon shook his head. "My daughter wishes to discover the weaknesses of the Dark Side."

Wedge scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That'll tell her how to defeat them, right?" Thelon nodded. "So, that leaves still two questions. Firstly, how can we be sure that she doesn't become one of them herself, and if she does, what can we do about it? Secondly, will the knowledge she gains be enough to defeat this threat thing, and if not, then what?"

Before Thelon could reply, Luke asked one more question, his voice sounding grim. "Whose side is she on, as in where her loyalties lie? I know that for some reason Imperials allowed her to escape a while back. They had her on tractor beams but they let her go after receiving a message soon after she was caught. Is, or was, she one of them?"

The Arkanian frowned. How they could know about that event? He shook that question off his mind, since surely there had been people who saw the event, and they could have info of that message, if not what was in it or who sent it, but at least they know the timing, and can put two and two together. Would they get four for an answer, he wasn't sure, but at least the seemed to get almost four.

He pushed these thoughts of off his mind, for the two humans were giving him glances filled with expectance, waiting for his answer. "For the first question, the answer is that we can't be sure. Still, I trust my daughter and to her connection with the Light Side. However, If she was to turn…" He shook his head. "We will find a way to deal with it, we have to.

"As for the second question, we don't know that either, not for sure. We hope, and believe, that it will be. Yet, it might not be. In that case, we must use the power that is waiting down on the planet of Ruusan, inside the Valley of the Jedi.

"Then, to the last question. Skywalker, you need to know this. My daughter was raised by a Dark Jedi, as the situation demanded. Please do not ask more about the reason, for I will not tell more. Because of the man, she became an Emperor's Hand, and an Imperial. At some point she joined a group that infiltrates to the Republic fleet in order to destroy it.

"According to what she told me, some time after she had been infiltrated to Coruscant, her opinion of the Republic and its predecessor, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a.k.a. Rebel Alliance, changed, and via her close relationship to one Wellen Carlan, she began to turn more and more against the Empire and the infiltrators she once served."

Luke gave him a frown. "You forgot to give a proper answer to my question."

Thelon grinned. "Combine what you know already to the fact that once she returned here, she only left to take a Leave of Absence from both Empire and Republic."

The Jedi's eyes widened in realization just for a second before he smiled. "Her main loyalties lie with her home planet and her species. Should've known that."

The Arkanian nodded. "You are right about that. As for her secondary loyalties, I don't know. I doubt even she knows for sure."

Wedge sighed quietly. "She can't be loyal to both Empire and us."

Thelon snorted. "But she can be loyal to both Arkania and one of you, if she chooses to. One choice she has already made, and that was the choice of her primary loyalty, to _us_."

* * *

Thelea landed her ship to a platform she had landed many ships since she first arrived on Ruusan three years ago.

Or, according to the coordinates it was, or should've been.

Her eyes told another story. This place didn't look like her usual platform at all. Instead of rocky walls that surrounded her usual landing site from three sides were now gone, replaced by mirror walls from all four sides.

She wondered how she hadn't noticed them as she had landed.

Unless they hadn't been there then. This meant an illusion. But, who had put them and why, she couldn't tell.

She closed her eyes and focused on listening to the Force that was around her, trying to find out what this thing was about, and how to get out of this place.

When she opened her eyes, the natural milky white had been replaced by a purple glow, as a sign that she was using the Force to aid her sight, to see through illusion someone had made.

With her new assisted sight, she saw that she truly was on her usual landing pad, and the mirrors were only illusions. She walked towards one of them, only to find out that illusion or not, she couldn't get trough.

After a moment of thinking, she wondered if she could actually jump over them, they definitely didn't look that high.

Using the Force to catapult her higher she leapt and was able to cross the mirror wall and land softly to the other side.

Only to come face to face with a very annoyed and hungry looking rancor.

Acting on instinct she used the Force to soothe the beast before it would attack. Too bad the rancor had other ideas as he snarled and reached his huge clawed hand to grab her.

She evaded the attack to one side, and then leapt over the creature to end behind him. Then she sent a small charge of Force lightning at him, causing him to howl in pain and rage.

After hearing the sound Thelea regretted hurting him, after all, it wasn't his fault that she had surprised him. She had to figure out a better way and fast.

She recalled an encounter with an Arkanian Dragon several years back. Dragons were more intelligent than rancors, but she should be able to stop the attack the same way here than then.

Calling the Force to her assistance she began to let out low growls and other sounds, trying to convince the beast that she wasn't a threat and that she had only attacked him to keep him away from her.

At first he didn't seem to listen but then she let out a determined growl, hoping that it would work. And it did. He stopped and gave her an odd look, tilting his huge head to one side. Then he leaned forwards, causing her nearly to step back.

She stood still as he sniffed at her curiously. After a moment he backed away and just left.

She sighed. She had really worried that she would have to hurt him, and she didn't want to hurt anything living.

Thelea looked around her to see if the regular path to the Valley was still there.

She wasn't really surprised to see that it wasn't.

Her Force assisted sight told her that the door and the wall it was in were both illusions. She was starting to become curious about these illusions. Their maker, their purpose, and where they were leading her.

Little she knew that her ancestor was behind all this, wanting to test her courage, spirit, and will. He wanted to know if she really could hold and use the power of the Valley, if she would ever have to take it.

The door opened as she approached it and she walked through the door way to a room behind it. The room was lit by two torches by the walls on her sides. The light revealed a door with some letters engraved on it. She walked to the door to read the text.

The text was written in Sith alphabet. Luckily the Emperor's son had taught her to read them. 'If you remain dry, the Force is with you.'

She blinked. _What in the name of the Force is this? And why anyone using Sith alphabet would write 'Force'? Those people usually use 'Dark side' instead of 'Force' in their writings._

She pushed the door open and stepped through it to a huge room with a huge body of water in it. The room wasn't lit by many torches, but as an Arkanian, she had infrared vision, which helped her see in this place.

On the other side of the room she noticed another door and realized what the text meant. The water, a pond perhaps, filled most of the room, from left wall to right, front to back, leaving only small dry areas of floor near each of the two doors.

If she wanted to stay dry, using the Force was her only option. However, the roof was too low for her to jump, even if she could usually be able to jump even in fairly low roofed and narrow spaces. But there were too many stalactites too close to each other hanging from the roof that she couldn't find a safe route to jump through them.

She could levitate too, but the stalactites were too close for that as well.

Suddenly she remembered that she had one more way to stay dry. She glanced at the left side wall, and then the right side one. Both seemed smooth enough for what she was planning to do.

After a short moment of concentration, she dashed to the left side wall and made a small jump towards the wall. As soon as her feet touched the wall she began running, boosting her speed with the Force.

Soon enough she was on the other side of the room and made another small jump, this time from the wall to the floor. She grinned. "Ha! That wasn't so hard."

As soon as she had finished the sentence, a set of Sith alphabet appeared on the door. She groaned. "Oh, for the..."

She halted as she read the new text. "'Take a look into your soul and see what you're truly made of', if I read it right."

She read the text again, and confirms that she got it right the first time. Suddenly her eyes widen as she realizes something. "Those words are used to describe one part of the Jedi Trials, the Trial of the Spirit. So, does this mean that everything that has happened here since I landed has been the Jedi Trials?

"Trials are: Trial of Skill, Trial of the Flesh, Trial of Courage, and Trial of the Spirit. The mirrors and what was in this room must've been Trials of Skill. And the rancor was... Skill, or Courage? Maybe bit of both. And behind this door is Spirit. Flesh is still ahead, then."

She remembered what her father had told her about the Trials. Trial of Skill determined if the padawan was able to use the lightsaber and the Force in combat, as well as to apply Force in any given situation.

Trial of the Flesh involved overcoming a loss, hardship, and/or physical pain. Some had lost someone important, others have lost something important, or even a limb.

Trial of Courage was about showing courage in battle or missions, even against terrible odds, as well as fighting an overwhelming number of enemies or one superior one, and defeating them.

Then there was the Trial of the Spirit. During it the padawan had to look deep within their hearts and souls to see what they were truly made of, as the text in the door had described it.

She hesitated for a moment. What if she didn't like what she would see? Some padawans were shocked by what they saw. After all she had been raised by someone who wanted to teach her in the ways of the Sith.

She shook her head to clear it. She was good. She hadn't allowed Emperor's son's dark arts into her soul. Not to mention she was descendant of Arca Jeth, the most powerful Jedi Master in Arkanian history.

Yes, she would pass this one too, whatever it was. She had to. For her friends' sake. For her planet's and family's sake.

For the Galaxy's sake.

She opened the door pushing it with the Force before stepping through it to face what was on the other side.

In front of her opened a round, very deep shaft, and a small round platform touching the edge closest to her.

Without hesitation, she walked to the shaft and stepped on to the platform, which immediately began to move towards the center of the shaft, halting as soon as it reached it.

Then suddenly she saw a bridge in front of her. Before she had any time to wonder about it, a voice began to speak from a distance. "Congratulations, you have reached this far. But it's not over yet. Now you have to make a choice of two paths to get out of this place. Your Force powers won't work here, so don't even think about jumping."

She blinked confused. How did the one behind the voice know that she had actually just considered jumping?

The voice continued. "One will lead you to the greater power than you could ever imagine, one will lead you to oblivion and death. If you step to the bridge, it will lead you to me, and you will learn that the Dark side leads you to unlimited power so you can wipe out the darkness and bring peace and freedom to the galaxy. And save your friends from it.

"However, if you step off the platform to the emptiness, you will only choose death for you and your friends, and the galaxy will be ruled by darkness."

The voice silenced and Thelea thought of her options. If she chose the Dark side, she could save everyone. If she chose to jump, they all would die.

Or would they?

She knew she would never choose darkness, but she couldn't let her friends, or her family, or her people, or everyone in the New Republic to die either.

She knew that Dark side would deceive her, Light side would never. And the voice, judging by the words, did seem more Dark than Light.

She knew what to do.

Closing her eyes, she stepped backwards and off of the platform.

However, she didn't fall, instead she felt her feet to touch solid ground. She opened her eyes and found herself in a midsized rectangular room with carvings of people, with and without lightsabers.

There were also five statues, one in each corner, and one in the middle of the wall farthest from her. Each of the four in corners held lightsabers, but with different postures. One was using the reverse grip and the blade behind his back, another had the blade on his left side and pointed at the ground, third was standing her left side towards the center of the room, and her double bladed lightsaber held horizontally behind her, and the fourth had her right hand blade horizontally across her chest and the left hand blade was pointing at the floor next to her.

The fifth statue was kneeling on the floor, knees apart. His unlit lightsaber was in front of him. This one she found the most intriguing. Others had activated lightsabers but this one hadn't. Why?

The voice from earlier returned suddenly. "So, you chose to die and let your friends die as well."

She shook her head. "I won't die here."

Before she had time to say anything else, a woman emerged out of thin air, a woman that looked a lot like her. And as she spoke, she had her voice too. "I'm the part of you that you buried deep within you, when you didn't want to let that man to teach you the Dark side. But everything he taught you were absorbed, if not by you then by a side of you that you didn't want to acknowledge. Me."

Thelea shook her head. "Are you trying to say we're inside me?"

The other her laughed. "No, we're in Valley of the Jedi, but the power here allowed me to gain a physical body of my own. I will simply kill you and then replace you." Then she sent a blast of lightning towards her.

Thelea evaded the blast. "I won't fight you, but I will not let you roam free either."

The other one growled silently. "You've kept me inside for all these years. I've been only partially awake, able to watch everything you've done, but not being able to control our body. Now I have body of my own and I'm not going to return there."

She shook her head. "The way you are now, I can't let you be free. I don't want you to be able to get close to my friends and use their trust to hurt them."

The other grinned. "So, you're afraid of them? Jedi shouldn't fear such things."

Thelea pondered over this. "I'm worried, not afraid. There's a difference. Besides, my greatest worry is that you could bring darkness to the Galaxy. A Jedi can't allow that kind of thing to happen."

Her dark 'twin' shrugged. "In the end, it doesn't matter what you want or don't want me to do, since you can't stop me."

This said, she lit her black bladed lightsaber and attacked Thelea, who responded only by lifting her green glowing left arm in front of her face to block the strike. The blade hit, but since she had activated Force Protection, that could protect its user from any physical attack, her arm stopped the blade.

The other woman leapt backwards and growled. "That's unfair! Draw your lightsaber and fight me properly."

A small voice somewhere deep within Thelea told her that fighting was what she had to do now. Deciding to do as the voice suggested, she lifted her right arm to her side and used the Force to pull her newly acquired double bladed lightsaber to her hand. "I don't want to fight, but I know I've got to do it."

As soon as she had finished, she had to activate one of the blue blades to block the black blade that had been aimed at her head. She was utilizing Shien style with reverse grip, with the blade horizontally across her face blocking the other blade, and her left fist supporting the right fist that was gripping the hilt.

The other one pulled back before infusing her blade with lightning and attacking again.

Thelea knew that the same block wouldn't work, so she quickly sent a strong Push at her attacker, causing her to be thrown backwards as the infused lightning on her blade faded. She chose not to follow her, preferring defence over offence.

Her opponent leapt to her feet and glared at her. "I've got a few tricks too!" Then she attacked her with lighting surging from both of her hands.

She reacted by activating Force Absorption, which caused her to glow blue. Her blade blocked some of the lightning, and the rest was absorbed by the ability, strengthening the glow around her, indicating that the energy that she had absorbed was now in her use.

The other one screamed in frustration. "Stop playing games and fight!" Then she charged at her, using Force to hasten her steps.

Thelea sighed and responded by vaulting over her opponent as soon as she was close enough. Then she activated the second blade and mimicked the posture of the female statue with the double bladed lightsaber. "This is your last chance. Put down your lightsaber or I will stop holding back."

Her opponent grinned. "Finally. I want to fight you on equal ground, since only then I can beat you in every possible way." Then she sent several blasts of lightning at her, following right behind with numerous lightsaber strikes, attacking from every angle, so that even if she could avoid the blasts, she wouldn't know from which direction the blade would eventually strike.

Thelea began to whirl her double bladed weapon in front of her. The blades blocked every lightning, and also effectively stopped the lightsaber attack.

Her opponent wasn't going to give up yet. Instead, she struck from side with enough force to actually stop the spinning blade and managing to lock the blades.

She shook her head. "Lightsaber lock against a double bladed lightsaber is never a good idea." This said, she allowed her opponent to win the lock, and proceeded by spinning the blade around to aim a strike to her opponent's back from the other blade.

However, this move left her front undefended, giving her opponent a chance to hit her with a lightning before retreating to avoid the second blade.

The blast hit, but because of the still active Absorption the blast itself did no damage, but due to the close range it threw Thelea backwards and straight to the kneeling statue. Before she had time to recover, her opponent's blade was already coming at her. This time she was saved by instinctive use of quick Force Repulse.

The expanding telekinetic ripples weren't strong, but they were still able to throw her opponent far enough from her so that she could recover. The statue was firmly attached to the floor, so the low energy that the uncharged blast released couldn't move it.

Thelea stood up and shook her head inwardly as her opponent charged again. However, she frowned as she sensed that something wasn't right, and was only barely able to vault over her opponent to safety when the 'other her' used a powerful blast of Force Destruction that had been aimed at the spot she had stood only moment earlier.

She glanced at the hole the blast had left on the floor before turning to look at the other woman, who now had red aura surrounding her.

The two stared one another for a long time. Thelea sensed the fury of her opponent, and knew that she was drawing power from it. She also knew what the aura meant; her opponent was preparing for an attack that would end the battle. If she wouldn't stop this first, that is.

She recalled that the connection between the Force and a Jedi could be blocked, even cut. She even knew how to do either one. But she didn't want to go that far, not just yet, so she tried to talk to her opponent one last time. "You know I can't let you do this. Submit now or I will stop this game the way you won't like. You think you can beat me, but you can't. I have an ability I don't want to use. This ability can help me to win any battle against other Jedi or Sith."

The other one shook her head. "You're bluffing!"

She sighed. This wasn't going to be easy, but she really didn't want to finish this using her ability. "I'm not bluffing. Please, for your own sake, don't make me go that far."

For a moment it seemed that her opponent would submit, but then she suddenly screamed and the red aura flashed angrily just a moment before she charged.

Thelea knew she couldn't stop the attack without killing her opponent or using that ability. She chose latter of the two. Reaching towards her opponent by using Force, she felt the connection between the opponent and the Force. For a moment, she hesitated. Cutting the connection, or even just blocking it, would feel just _wrong_. What right she had to deny a Force user to use the Force?

She didn't.

She closed her eyes, allowing Force to fill her body and to do whatever it wanted with her. If it was the Force's will that she would die, so be it. She just couldn't take Force away from a Force user.

* * *

Thelea couldn't sense the Dark side anywhere. Slowly, she opened her eyes, only to find herself in the heart of the Valley, standing face to face with the Guardian.

To her surprise, he was actually smiling.

Confused, she tried to recall what had happened. She remembered waiting the lightsaber blade to hit, but instead there had been a surge of power and then nothing.

Which brought her to this moment.

She looked down to her right hand and saw that her double bladed lightsaber wasn't there. A quick check told her that the weapon was back on her belt.

She turned her gaze at the Guardian. "What happened?"

He was still smiling. "You passed the Trials. You also proved that, if necessary, you could hold the power of the Valley."

She felt her eyes widen. "Who tested me? You're not a Jedi Master. And what happened in that room, what about my opponent?"

His smile faded. "You'll meet the one who tested you later. As for events of the room, when you gave yourself completely to the Force, refusing to break the connection between your opponent and the Force, even if it would've killed you, you proved that your spirit is pure."

"And my opponent?"

"She told you the truth about her identity." She saw a shadow cross his face as he fell quiet for a moment. Then the shadow vanished and he resumed his explanation. "She was purified by the purity of your spirit, and is again part of you."

She thought about his words. "But she wanted to be free, not part of anyone. Couldn't she be free now that she's purified of darkness?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible. You were only supposed to be separate beings during your Trial, never after that. But don't worry; she's where she's supposed to be. You must be whole to be in full strength."

She nodded, but then a thought crossed her mind. "Could she have defeated me?"

He grinned. "I suppose we'll never know. Now, what brought you here?"

She had to think for a moment before she remembered. "There's something dark and powerful rising in the Galaxy. I came to consult the Arkanian Holocron about it."

"What would be your questions?"

"The darkness... I need to know if it's Palpatine." She saw him startle at the name, and realized that he had known, or at least guessed. "You knew this already, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Many know. None wanted to tell you because you needed to realize it yourself."

She felt slight anger but forced it to vanish. "How we can stop him?"

"He's looking for the power of one of the Valleys. But he can't find either. Even he doesn't know where the Valley of the Dark Lords is. In case he's looking for the Arkanian Holocron, part of the Armada is going to protect it. Moonlord is already here, and your father will be here soon.

"If he happens to find the other Valley and gain the power within it, someone must use the power here to stop him. However, as you know, there's a price to pay for its use."

"What is the price?"

"The user will gradually lose his or her self, and will eventually become the power of the Valley. Not part of the power but the power itself. That's all I know."

She shakes her head to clear it. "So it's the last option. What's our next move?"

"You will go back to the Moonlord, and wait for your father."

* * *

The man grinned as he was standing at the front of one of the massive tombs in the Valley of the Dark Lords. This hadn't been as difficult as he had first thought. He had easily defeated the guardians and cleared numerous traps and obstacles of the Valley floor.

And now his prize was near. He only had to climb the stairs in front of him to reach the tomb itself. And in the sarcophagus of the Dark Lord of the Sith buried here was the black Sith Holocron.

He cleared the stairs with two massive leaps and didn't waste any time to break through the heavy stone door with a single powerful blast of Force Push. Then he ran through the narrow corridor before reaching the huge room with the sarcophagus.

Nothing tried to stop him as he walked to the sarcophagus, and moved the lid to reveal the remains of an ancient Sith Lord holding a pyramid shaped object that was pulsating darkness.

This is what he came for.

Without hesitation he grabbed the holocron and lifted it high in the air. Then he began to feed it with his wrath, hoping it to respond. If it didn't, it wouldn't deem him worth it.

He smirked as the pulsating quickened, and the darkness began to flow into him.

* * *

Chimaera had reached the Yavin 4, and Ken Kanos was accompanying both Thrawn and Pellaeon to the surface. He already sensed the Force here, both sides of it. He was also able to sense the presence of the ancient Sith Lord, or his spirit, at least.

Which is why he was in the shuttle's cockpit, giving directions to the pilot.

As they approached the location of the Tomb of Exar Kun, he couldn't stop thinking about his task of finding the Arkanian. He wondered if he could ask him how to defeat an Arkanian.

He also wondered if the spirit would even know.

Sighing, he sat heavier on his seat and took a glance through the cockpit's transparisteel viewport to see that they were getting closer to the tomb. He turned to the pilot and pointed at the tomb. "That's where we're going."

The pilot glanced at him. "You're sure, sir?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am. The Dark side is strong in there. How close can you land?"

The pilot checked his computer. "Basically at the entrance."

"Good." He got up. "I'll accompany the others."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Thrawn glanced at the entrance to the tomb of Exar Kun suspiciously. "Guardsman, are you sure there are no guards waiting for us?"

The young man closed his eyes, as if trying to sense something. After a few seconds he opened them. "I'm sure, sir. There's just one being in there."

Before Thrawn had any time to comment that, the door to the tomb slid open, and a voice was heard. "Come in, visitors. I will do no harm unless you give me a reason to do so."

Without hesitation Thrawn walked in, followed by Ken Kanos. He vaguely heard Pellaeon barking orders to group of stormtroopers to guard the entrance, before captain himself followed the two.

The path to the tomb itself was not long. In there, a ghostly figure was waiting them, standing its face at them. The room was fairly large, with numerous torches bringing their light in it, so that no part of the room was in shadows.

He walked to the middle of the room and stopped his small group there. "Lord Kun, I am the last Grand Admiral of the Galactic Empire and I have come to seek knowledge I believe only you can give."

The spirit had been looking at the young man with him, but now turned his gaze on him. "I know of you, Admiral Thrawn."

Thrawn frowned. "I didn't know the news of me had reached this moon."

The deceased Sith Lord grinned. "I have been brought up-to-date fairly recently."

A small thought crossed Thrawn's mind. He had a bad feeling about this. "Was this person an Arkanian female?"

For a short moment a look of surprise crossed the spirit's face, telling him that he had been right. "Did you tell her where a great power can be found?"

The spirit shrugged. "I didn't tell her precisely, but gave her pointers, yes."

"Did she figure it out?"

A nod. "She was very smart."

Before Thrawn could ask him to tell where the power could be found, Ken Kanos spoke. "Uh, Lord Kun?"

"Yes?"

The young man looked fairly nervous. "We are supposed to capture her; can you tell us how we can do it?"

Kun laughed. "You will be no match for her unless you leash the power you seek to your own use."

Kanos startled, but the look of fear in his eyes was quickly replaced by determination. "Then, please tell us how to find that power."

The past Sith Lord shook his head slightly. "It is no longer there. The Black Sith Holocron has been removed from its place not long ago. You should try to find the one who took it in order to use it. And if they have taken its power already, then you must convince them to assist you."

Ken cursed under his breath before asking another question. "Then how can we find the person who took it?"

"Find the Arkanian Holocron."

Thrawn cut in before Kanos could speak. "Let me guess, it's _not_ in Arkania."

A soft laughter. "It was created there, thus the name, but it was moved to the Valley of the Jedi. However, they know the Empire is looking for it, and will be protecting it."

He realized something. "The Arkanian who was here, she's there isn't she?"

Another nod. "She said she would consult the Arkanian Holocron, so yes. However, I will not tell you where to find it."

Thrawn rubbed his chin. "If you tell us where the Black Sith Holocron was hidden, we might be able to find traces of the one who took it."

The spirit shrugged. "I see no harm in that. Very well. I will not make it too easy, however. Its original location is in Korriban, hidden inside one of the tombs. Which one, I won't tell."


End file.
